Industrial output in March suffers largest drop since 1946

Industrial production fell 5.4% in March, the steepest decline since early 1946 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
 
Capacity utilization fell down to 72.7% from 77%, the lowest level since the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a 4.1% decline in production and capacity utilization of 73.8%.

What happened: There were declines across the board in March.

Manufacturing production fell 6.3% in March, the biggest drop since February 1946. Most major industries posted declines. Production of motor vehicles and parts declined 28%.
Mining output fell 2% in March and utility production fell 3.9%.

Big picture: Factories began shutting down late in March as the coronavirus pandemic forced social distancing. Economists think manufacturing conditions will continue to deteriorate in April. In the first look at April, the New York Fed’s manufacturing index, plummeted to a record low - 78.2.